Clemson’s Memorial Stadium sits just a literal stone’s throw away from a historic building called Fort Hill. The building, which is now a library and museum, was the former plantation home of John C. Calhoun, a former senator and vice president, and a staunch defender of slavery whose property was donated to build the college after his death.
The school is named after Thomas Green Clemson, Calhoun’s son-in-law (and a former Confederate soldier), who inherited Calhoun’s plantation and designated the land to be used for an agricultural college in his will. But Calhoun’s name is still all over the campus, including on the Calhoun Honors College.